


A Kiss Under the Mistletoe

by StrictlyFromCorn (orphan_account)



Series: Fred Astaire x Ginger Rogers [7]
Category: American Actor RPF, Astaire/Rogers RPF, Classic Hollywood - Fandom, Dancers - Fandom, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/StrictlyFromCorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The crew of Swing Time decides to take a day off and decorate the RKO office for Christmas, but Fred and Ginger have snuck off to a room to eat cookies and hang mistletoe. Things start to get hot between them when he starts to mention how people kiss under the mistletoe... Rated T for kissing and such.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Kiss Under the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone!

"You know, Ginge, these cookies are amazing. You should bake 'em more often." The resident singing-and-dancing star of RKO Studios commented to his dancing partner. It was none other than Fred Astaire himself. He was sitting by the fireplace in a small office room at the studio, next to Ginger Rogers. Instead of filming for  _Shall We Dance_ , the whole cast and crew decided to go and decorate all of the offices at RKO, as a little Christmas surprise.

Fred and Ginger had managed to sneak away from the other actors, saying that they were going to decorate Pandro S. Berman's office by themselves. Instead, they had been doing nothing except eating cookies that Ginger had baked and joking around with each other. "Thanks, Freddie. I always knew you loved gingerbread cookies." She responded with a smile as she took another one off the plate. When she baked them, she had intended to share them with the crew, but the two dancers had eaten all but three of those cookies.

"You used to make these in New York, too." The grin on Fred's face was due to the fact that he loved the company of Ginger. If he could pick one person to be stranded on a deserted island with, he would pick her, without a doubt. The tap-dancer brought another cookie to his mouth, trying his best not to let the crumbs get all over his Brooks three-piece suit. "Maybe we should get some of this mistletoe hung up. You know, so that we have an excuse for spending so much time in here." Fred suggested, although he had to admit that he was in no hurry whatsoever to get up from his comfortable position on the loveseat.

"Oh, can't it wait?" Ginger asked lazily, having no desire as well to rise from her place next to Fred on the loveseat. "I wish every day could be like this." She commented, picking up the second-last cookie on the plate. "I know, I know, if every day was like this we'd never get any work done. I know, Freddie." The dancer interrupted her partner just as he was about to say something to that effect.

"You're three steps ahead of me, Feathers." Fred shook his head and smiled. A moment of silence passed between them as they each ate their cookies, and all was well between the two dancers until they looked down at the plate. There was one cookie remaining, and neither of them wanted to give it up. He acted quickly and extended his hand to grab the cookie just as Ginger had the same idea. However, Fred had acted first, and his grip on the cookie was almost like a stranglehold.

Ginger Rogers wasn't the kind of woman to give up easily, though. Figuring that trying to grab it out of his hand would do no good, she resorted to another plan. She pulled the most innocent, pleading face that she was capable of, widening her brilliant blue eyes, looking almost like a wide-eyed cat. The actress said nothing, but she could tell that it was having an effect on Fred.

He said nothing, either, but he was starting to feel bad for taking the whole cookie. After all, Ginger was the one who had baked them. Reluctantly, he broke the cookie into two, and held out one half to his dancing partner. Quick as a flash, she took that half, and while the tap-dancer had let his guard down, she grabbed the other half that was in his right hand and stuffed them both in her mouth.

"Hey!" Fred protested, although it was evidently too late. He had been outdone by her yet again. However, it was hard for him to stay angry for long when she flashed that sweet, childish grin at him. He contented himself by shaking his head and reminding himself not to fall for Ginger's trickery the next time.

"Thanks, Freddie." She smiled at him as she dusted the crumbs off her stunning red-and-white dress. Instead of returning to her original reclining position, she got to her feet. "You know, maybe we really ought to hang this mistletoe." Ginger suggested, looking at the plant that was sitting on the desk.

"Okay, okay, let's find the ladder." Fred figured that they were going to have to get the work done sooner or later anyway. He reluctantly got up from his seat and dusted his coat off, getting rid of the crumbs. "Wait a second, where  _is_ the ladder?" The dancer asked all of a sudden, realizing that there only was one ladder and it wasn't in the office room.

"Uh, well, I, um... I think Pan and the others took it earlier on." Ginger remembered their choreographer asking if they were done with the ladder, and she had foolishly said yes. "We can't go ask for it again, 'cause they'll want to see the decorations we put up." She mused, trying to think of a way out of that tough spot.

"There's a chair over here." Fred dragged Pandro's comfortable chair over to the spot under the mistletoe, but there was one slight problem. The chair had wheels on it, and neither of them were willing to climb up on it.

"I'll break my neck trying to hang mistletoe while standing on this." Ginger stated simply. Her blue gaze searched the room until it fell upon a coffee table. "Hey, how about this? It's not as tall as the chair, but it'll do!" It was the sturdy, metal kind that would hold her weight up. She weighed only just over a hundred pounds, anyway.

"We could try." He sounded doubtful, but nevertheless assisted his dancing partner in bringing the coffee table over. It didn't look like she would be able to reach the ceiling, since the table was a little low, but Fred was willing to give it a shot anyway. With a helping hand from him, Ginger stepped up onto the coffee table, and his prediction turned out to be right.

"Oh, blast - I wanted to hang this mistletoe!" She sighed, wondering what other methods were at their disposal. Another idea found its way into Fred's mind, and after a moment's hesitation, he shook his head and climbed up onto the coffee table as well.

"Ginge, here's what we'll do. I'll carry you and you can hang the mistletoe. But make it quick, all right?" He wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to hold her up, and if the table was going to carry their weight, but it was a risk that he was willing to take just to make her happy. He could've easily hung the mistletoe himself, but Fred wanted to see that little twinkle in Ginger's eyes and that million-dollar smile on her face.

"Well, I-" She didn't know what to make of the situation, and the actress hesitated for a moment before Fred just picked her up bridal-style anyway. He had never done that to her before - and the feeling was completely breathtaking. It was almost like a dream. In that trance-like state, Ginger reached up and hung the mistletoe from the ceiling, and part of her almost wanted to prolong the whole situation, so that he would keep holding her that way. But the issue of the coffee table carrying their weight occupied her mind, too, so she informed her dancing partner that it was okay to put her down.

Fred placed her back on the coffee table as gently as possible, glad that he had managed that. He stepped off the coffee table and offered Ginger his hand, which she took gratefully. "You know, Feathers, couples kiss under the mistletoe during the Christmas season." He remarked casually, placing one hand in his pocket and looking up at the plant, although he was dying to see her reaction to his comment.

"Yeah, they do." Ginger cast a fleeting glance at him, wondering what his intent was. She emulated his casual manner, though, trying to act as if she didn't care at all for the topic. On the inside, however, her heart was racing. What if he was hinting that he wanted to kiss her? But then again, what if it was just a rhetorical question? She never could tell with that man.

"It's from a Norse myth, actually. There was a god, Balder, and he dreamed he was going to die. His mother, Frigga, the goddess of love, wished to the gods for protection for her son. Well, Balder's enemy, Loki, killed him with an arrow from the mistletoe plant. Frigga is said to have cried so much that the tears turned into mistletoe berries, and Balder came back to life. After that, Frigga kissed everyone that passed under the mistletoe and no harm could come to them." Fred explained, casting sidelong glances at her every few sentences. Ginger pretended to be moderately interested in the story, but she didn't turn around and look at him. If he was gonna kiss her, he was going to have to be less subtle about it.

"Oh. I didn't know that." She stated simply, hoping that he wouldn't notice the fact that she was wiping her hands, sweaty from anticipation, on her dress. "Thanks for telling me, Freddie." Ginger tried to keep her tone as emotionless as possible, although she wanted nothing more than to turn around and kiss him. I mean, all said and done - he was _married_. But from the signs that Fred was giving her, it seemed like that didn't quite matter at that moment.

"And guys usually remove a berry from the plant when they kiss a girl." From the corner of her eye, Ginger could see that Fred was taking off a berry from the mistletoe plant. Yes, he did want to kiss her. He wanted it more than anything else in the world. She felt his approach, and when he placed a hand on her shoulder, it felt like a jolt of electricity. There was no other way to describe it.

"Fred, I-" Ginger turned around to look at him, and found herself almost face-to-face with Fred. Their faces were so close together that their noses were almost touching, and she could feel his warm breath on her face. In fact, he could smell her perfume as well. A small gasp escaped from her mouth, but at the same time, she loved the feeling. The actress was staring right into his hazel eyes - the prettiest color she knew. Ginger had never noticed how many different shades of green and brown and blue were in his eyes, but at that proximity, it was hard _not_ to notice those things.

Fred's gaze surveyed her face as well, taking in her brilliant blue eyes and the shape of her nose and her slightly disheveled blonde hair. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled Ginger closer, and with his other hand, he smoothed down her hair. With a sudden, decisive action, Fred clenched his jaw and leaned in, pressing his lips against her soft lips. The taste of the gingerbread cookies from earlier on lingered in the kiss, mixed with the taste of her own lipstick.

Ginger returned the kiss with all her heart as she closed her eyes. She brought her hand to his face, running her hand over his jaw. Before he came to Hollywood, producers used to think his "bad chin line" marred his looks. Well, she definitely thought differently since she repeatedly ran her hand back and forth across his jaw, somehow liking how it felt to the touch. Fred responded with resting his hand against her cheek as well, feeling how smooth her face was.

He locked his lips so that her lower lip was between his two lips. In a swift motion, he lightly brushed his tongue over the tip of her lips, and the contact almost made Ginger melt into his arms. Instead, she kept going with the kiss, opening her mouth slightly and inviting him to go ahead with his plans for a French kiss, which he had just hinted at.

Fred extended his tongue, touching it against hers for a brief moment. The pleasure they both got from that touch was immeasurable, and she felt herself being pulled a little tighter towards him. Ginger made the next move, touching the tip of her tongue to his, finding the sensation a little ticklish. He extended his tongue again in response, making contact with hers on the side of her tongue.

The two of them kept up that way for a while longer, until they broke apart to catch a breath. Their foreheads were still touching, though, and Ginger could honestly say that she had never seen Fred smile that much in all the time they had known each other. He smiled at movie premieres, he smiled when he greeted others, but never one like that.

They said nothing, but resumed the kiss. He wished that they could keep it up like that for the rest of their lives - he would like nothing more than that. Ginger was such a good kisser, and he hated to blow his own trumpet, but he thought he didn't do such a bad job, either. Fred was about to make another move and kiss with a little bit more intensity when a loud bang interrupted the two of them. They broke away, surprised, and from their place, they heard someone yell, "Why'd ya drop that ladder, ya idiot?!"

Ginger cast a glance at him that almost seemed to say "can you believe these morons?". He responded with a shake of his head and a small smirk. "C'mon, I know somewhere where we won't be distubed." He intended to take her to the rehearsal room, which was soundproof and locked. And besides, they would have a good cover if anyone asked why the decorations weren't done. Fred took her by the hand, but he figured that would hardly do. Not after a kiss that intense.

Without saying a word, he picked Ginger up again, bridal-style, and carried her out of the room. And the only thing that was going through the dancer's mind was, "Gee, what a swell Christmas."


End file.
